Eagle Medallion Hunt returns this week with $1,000 prize
For the first time in three years, the The Eagle Medallion Hunt is back and in its usual format. The contest, which challenges prize-seeking Wichitans to search parks and sift through underbrush, starts Thursday — the day before the launch of the 50th anniversary Wichita Riverfest.
After the pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 Riverfest, The Eagle brought the medallion hunt back last year. But because the Riverfest was split into two sections in 2021, with the bulk of the activities in the fall, the hunt was abbreviated and didn’t start until late September.
This year, the festival is back to its usual nine-day format and is back to its usual June start date.
The hunt is a Riverfest tradition that offers up cryptic clues meant to lead players to a 2-inch plastic coin hidden on public property in Sedgwick County. The person who decodes the clues and finds the medallion gets $1,000.
This year’s Wichita Riverfest opens on Friday and runs through June 11. The first Medallion Hunt clue will be released at 7 a.m. on Thursday, and a new clue will follow every morning through Thursday, June 9, (or until the medallion is found.) The clues can be found at kansas.com and they’ll also be posted by noon each day near the front doors of the Wichita Eagle newsroom at 330 N. Mead. They won’t run in the print edition of the paper.
The contest will end at midnight on Thursday, June 9, or whenever the medallion is found.
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Last year, the Medallion was found by Derby residents Paula and Kurt Langworthy, first-time searchers who just wanted to get out of the house and saw the contest on the Eagle’s website on the final day of the hunt. Last year, the medallion was hidden at the Big Arkansas River Park in a pile of pine needles beneath a tree.
Hunters are encouraged to keep in mind that no Medallion Hunt clues, nor the hiding place, require entry onto private property.
This is the 47th anniversary of the Medallion Hunt, which is nearly as old as the Riverfest itself.
Whoever finds the medallion should call 316-268-6200 and leave a detailed description of where the Medallion was found as well as contact information during normal business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Medallion must be returned to The Eagle by 3 p.m. on Friday, June 10, or no one wins the prize.
The contest is open to legal residents of Kansas who are at least 18 years old as of June 2, 2022. Employees and their immediate family members of The Wichita Eagle, the McClatchy Company, and Wichita Festivals Inc., and board members of Wichita Festivals Inc. and their immediate family, are not eligible to participate.
For full contest rules, visit kansas.com/riverfest
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 10:47 AM.
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